JHS Punchline

The new Punchline came Thursday. Didn’t have time to test it out, but having had one before, wasn’t too worried. Took it to the gig last night and it took me less than a minute to dial it in and I never touched it again the whole night except to kick the drive on and off.

It was killer. Sounded better than ever. Not only is this thing a keeper and going nowhere, it’s going to be my main gig board. Sounds too good not to use.


View attachment 7083955
Awesome. You can’t beat the simplicity. I out it in front of the Stomp and all of the effects and sims in that sound noticeably better as well. I can’t stop playing stuff through it. A big plus is my guitars sound really good through the same setup. It just adds the special sauce. One of the rare times the value surpasses my expectations.
 
20241124_094611.jpg


Another great service with the Punchline at church today!

On another note, I spent a few minutes goofing around with settings at home last night. I had never cranked the amp sim gain all the way before. It's a little weird on its own, and the difference from 9.5 to 10 is almost like flipping a switch, haha! But DUDES. Push the amp sim gain to 10, THEN kick on the drive channel! WHOA!!! I just riffed on nonsense and giggled for a solid 10 mins. 🤣 I've got to work that in somewhere, somehow, haha!
 
View attachment 7085038

Another great service with the Punchline at church today!

On another note, I spent a few minutes goofing around with settings at home last night. I had never cranked the amp sim gain all the way before. It's a little weird on its own, and the difference from 9.5 to 10 is almost like flipping a switch, haha! But DUDES. Push the amp sim gain to 10, THEN kick on the drive channel! WHOA!!! I just riffed on nonsense and giggled for a solid 10 mins. 🤣 I've got to work that in somewhere, somehow, haha!
Fun tip I’ll have to try that!
 
View attachment 7085038

Another great service with the Punchline at church today!

On another note, I spent a few minutes goofing around with settings at home last night. I had never cranked the amp sim gain all the way before. It's a little weird on its own, and the difference from 9.5 to 10 is almost like flipping a switch, haha! But DUDES. Push the amp sim gain to 10, THEN kick on the drive channel! WHOA!!! I just riffed on nonsense and giggled for a solid 10 mins. 🤣 I've got to work that in somewhere, somehow, haha!
Do you mean 10 as in 10 o'clock, or 10 as in maximum output?
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad
Hey Guys -
I finally rearranged my pedalboard which solved the issue of my fuzz pedal not behaving with the Punchline. My Punchline has been AWESOME for all of my gigs in 2024 and become my most important piece of gear other than my basses.

I've only ever used a fuzz on "Think For Yourself," but my son Nick gave me a new Earthquaker "Park" fuzz pedal for my birthday last month, so I've been having all kinds of fun messing with it (man, it sounds GREAT with the TI flats, and it's QUIET!) Park fuzz pedals were only around from 1969-1970, and as far as I understand, the company that made them were responsible for the Tone Bender which is what Paul McCartney used for the fuzz bass part on TFY.

Here's an original Park fuzz:
1732501979231.png


When I first got the Punchline last summer I was running it 2nd in line on my pedalboard: input to Tuner/Punchline/Source Audio OFD (Overdrive, Fuzz, Distortion) output to the amp. The Punchline sounded GREAT, but the Source Audio OFD fuzz didn't behave as it had done on its own for the past several years. The Park fuzz initially didn't behave when substituted for the OFD, as issues were exacerbated as now I was getting feedback and all kinds of nastiness.

As of today, my new pedal order is input to Tuner/Mooer Tender Octaver/Park Fuzz/Punchline - output to the amp. All pedals are playing nice together and I can keep EVERYTHING on with the Punchline (including the Amp-Sim.) There are no issues with feedback or unwanted noise.
1732502215414.png

Changing the pedal order solved the issue!


Additionally, the velcro was beginning to give way due to the weight of the Punchline, so now I'm using mini-bungee cords as well thanks to the suggestion of @s0c9 to help secure it to my PedalTrain Nano+. Here's the underside:
1732502618891.png


Our next gig isn't until January 18, so I can't wait to play with the revised pedalboard!
 
View attachment 7085038

Another great service with the Punchline at church today!

On another note, I spent a few minutes goofing around with settings at home last night. I had never cranked the amp sim gain all the way before. It's a little weird on its own, and the difference from 9.5 to 10 is almost like flipping a switch, haha! But DUDES. Push the amp sim gain to 10, THEN kick on the drive channel! WHOA!!! I just riffed on nonsense and giggled for a solid 10 mins. 🤣 I've got to work that in somewhere, somehow, haha!
My son has that same Jazz Bass which he uses with his Punchline. ;)

His other primary 4-string is the Aerodyne P-Bass. Man, that bass also sounds amazing, and has one of the most comfortable necks you'll ever play.
1732505963651.png
 
My son has that same Jazz Bass which he uses with his Punchline. ;)

His other primary 4-string is the Aerodyne P-Bass. Man, that bass also sounds amazing, and has one of the most comfortable necks you'll ever play.
View attachment 7085215
Awesome! Your son is a cool Dude, haha!

I also have a Storm Trooper, lol! I swapped out the stock pickup for a Geezer. Love it!
20240501_134107.jpg
 
So, here’s the real punchline: It’s finally “out for delivery” 🚚📦 … (wait for it) … on the day we leave to spend Thanksgiving with the relatives.
(Thankfully, I’ve got a neighbor who can keep it safe for me until I return.) Assuming I ever get my own hands on it, I’ll let y’all know what I think. 🧐
I had the same issue with a bass delivery several years ago. The good news is that I was able to schedule a revised delivery date for when I'd be home.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joshua Gerry
Additionally, the velcro was beginning to give way due to the weight of the Punchline, so now I'm using mini-bungee cords as well thanks to the suggestion of @s0c9 to help secure it to my PedalTrain Nano+. Here's the underside:
I went with the bungees because I wanted to be easily able to remove the Punchline from the pedalboard , as I also have them on my Khan VTDI for easy removal. I also didn’t want pedaltrain Velcro on the underside of each of those units.
The mini bungees solve both concerns.
 
I went with the bungees because I wanted to be easily able to remove the Punchline from the pedalboard , as I also have them on my Khan VTDI for easy removal. I also didn’t want pedaltrain Velcro on the underside of each of those units.
The mini bungees solve both concerns.

Do you run the Khan with the Punchline or is it for something separate? I just got a Khan not long ago and have not had a chance to try it with the Punchline.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lovep and nixdad
Just going through some old Punchline posts that had questions from several months ago. I'm not sure if these folks pulled through trigger or not. If they have not, hopefully these answers may help.
Curious about the Punchline, but not curious enough for the price tag...
@CharlieGrove - The Punchline is currently at $374.25.
1732576278112.png

I get that this thing’s whole raison d'être is a vintage flatwounds vibe, but I’m nonetheless curious how it sound with rounds and a more driven rock tone. Anyone know?
@DoctorZee - Here's a great video which answers your Punchline with rounds question:



Okay, I decided to grab one of these instead of possibly regretting it later if they sell out. I went for it after reading this thread and watching a bunch of videos about it on youtube. My plan is to use it on a small nano board (though it is a pretty big pedal as others have mentioned), along with very little else, just a tuner and a MXR vintage bass octave, which essentially eats all the real estate on the nano so it's not like I have room for more, but the Punchline has a lot built into that big box, so curious if others feel this setup makes any sense. Also, I'll need to experiment a lot more, but curious what people think about putting the vintage octave before/after the punchline?
@J R Howard - Run the Punchline last in your signal chain.
Hopefully JHS will release a non limited more affordable standalone bass amp sim, based on the one in this pedal, at some point, it sounds phenomenal in all the demos I have watched.
@Ritter667 - please see the info above. The current price may change your mind. ;)
 
View attachment 7044906
This is a pedaltrain nano. There is just enough space for the Punchline and a full size tuner. I’m hoping I won’t have any issues daisy chaining from the power-out on the Peterson tuner into the power-in on the punchline. I guess we’ll find out. I still haven’t plugged in and tried it.

So how did this work out, using the 9V out from the tuner to power the Punchline, and it looks like you are using a 9V battery in the tuner for your power source...?

Also, what length is that patch cable, thanks...!
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad
So how did this work out, using the 9V out from the tuner to power the Punchline, and it looks like you are using a 9V battery in the tuner for your power source...?

Also, what length is that patch cable, thanks...!
I use a 9v one-spot into the tuner, and then daisy chain from the tuner power out into the punchline power input. No issues. Gig tested. Great product!